Burmeister, Mitchell, Knight, Kittle elected to Auburn Hills City Council

Newcomers John S. Burmeister, VeRonica Mitchell and incumbent council member Henry V. Knight were elected to four-year terms on the Auburn Hills City Council while incumbent Bob Kittle was re-elected to a two-year term.

Burmeister tallied 19.18 percent of the Auburn Hills’ six precincts’ 6,482 votes, with Mitchell at 18.03 percent and Knight at 14.9 percent with Kittle trailing at 13.3 percent.

Burmeister, 52, a retired fire chief from the Auburn Hills Fire Department with an associate’s degree, said the biggest issue this election is maintaining the services the city provides to residents.

Burmeister said he will “actively support and research areas where we can share services, capitol purchases, and bidding processes with other communities. I will work on dropping barriers between communities that may prevent this from occurring.”

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Mitchell, 43, an advanced vehicle development engineer for GM with an executive MBA and bachelor’s in chemical engineering as well as numerous post-grad certifications, is a current Auburn Hills Public Library board member and said the biggest issue in the community is maintaining the city’s services in the face of declining property tax revenues.

Mitchell said she’d like to promote growth in the area.

“I would love to see Auburn Hills be showcased as the national benchmark for providing community services to its residents,” she said. “A community designed to accommodate the needs of seniors encompasses services that benefit residents of all ages.”

Knight, 82, a retired industrial executive with a master of science in engineering, said the community’s biggest issue is its need to remain a growing, financially sound and age-inclusive city keeping its small town atmosphere.

Knight said he would “continue to work effectively with the other council members to update our five-year plan to continue our planned growth in all areas and make wise decisions to implement.”

Kittle, 54, owner of local business Munetrix, LLC, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He said the biggest issue Auburn Hills faces as a community is the management of its services while undergoing tremendous growth — and balancing the “euphoria of economic growth” with the incremental burden it will eventually put on the city’s police, fire, roads and infrastructure.

Kittle said he hopes to “help the two new councilpersons that will be elected in November accelerate their learning curve so they can be as effective as possible in the least amount of time.”

Johnson, 36, a program manager at Inteva Products with master’s degrees in operation management and manufacturing management, said the most important issue in the community this election is the advancement of the library to better aid the community in its own advancement process.

“I hope to provide honest feedback and guidance to ensure that the Auburn Hills Public Library continues to deliver a high level of service to the community,” he said.

Whitley, 58, a retiree with a Series 7 license from the National Association of Securities Dealers, said the biggest issue in Auburn Hills this election is the creation and maintenance of a safe community with limitless job opportunities.

Whitley said she wants to “continue to balance our budget while improving services to the library.”

Ellis, 57, a retired senior project manufacturing engineer with a master’s degree in international business administration, said electing knowledgeable, effective and experienced leadership is the biggest election issue in Auburn Hills.

“I will combine my professional and community services experiences to help provide continuous improvements which provide the best possible library services to the Auburn Hills Community residents, workers and visitors in support of the mission, goals and policy direction,” she said.

Scott McCallister and Angela N. River each secured a six year term with 47.03 percent and 47.74 percent of 2,696 votes, while write-in candidates netted 5.23 percent.

McCallister, 34, has a bachelor’s degree and works in customer service and said the biggest issue in Auburn Hills is to preserve the family-friendly, small-town feel of the community.

McCallister said he would like to bring “current technology into the library for remotely checking out and downloading material while maintaining healthy, diverse and interesting print media for patrons who prefer a more traditional approach.”

Angela N. River, 44, a local business owner with an associates degree in applied sciences, said the biggest issue in Auburn Hills is the economic decline in tax revenue that provides vital services to the city’s residents.

She said she wishes to do a number of things to improve the library, including promoting the library in the community, protect the “Library Fund,” foster partnerships with other entities in the community and protect the library from inappropriate influence, among other things.

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Andrew is an online coordinator, multimedia journalist and editorial page contact for The Oakland Press who has been with Digital First Media since 2012. Reach the author at andrew.kidd@oakpress.com
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